It’s finally time to start prepping for Spring 2016. Looking at the newest colors in menswear, we made some great selections of spring shirting fabrics for you to add to your wardrobe. When you go custom, you not only get to pick the color of the shirt but the style details as well.

And…Our top three Spring colors drawn from the SS16 Menswear Runway are as follows:

There comes a time in every man’s life when he has to (gasp) iron his own shirt. Perhaps you were on a trip and found yourself with a wrinkly shirt 30 minutes before you were heading out to a wedding. Why not learn to properly iron a dress shirt so you will be sure to get it right the next time you find yourself in that situation? The great news, you can iron your dress shirt in five minutes or less.

First and foremost, take a look at the tag inside the shirt for laundering directions. Make sure to check the settings of your iron to ensure you are following the directions for the fabric type.

So that you don’t re-wrinkle the body of the shirt in a last minute attempt to iron the extremities, begin with the cuffs and the collar. In both cases, lay the collar or cuff open, inside out, and flat on the board. Iron from the outer edges in. After the inner portion is complete, flip them and do the same thing on the other side.

Next, open the arm hole and drape the circle of the armhole over the round edge of the ironing board. Rotate all the way around to iron the entirety as well as the yoke (upper back panel) between the two sleeves.

Pull the shirt off the round portion of the board and button it all the way up to the collar. Lengthen the sleeve out holding it at the sleeve/shoulder crease in one hand and the edge of the cuff in the other. Lay it lengthwise on the board and iron the entire thing on one side before flipping it to take care of the other side.

I prefer to iron the body of the shirt in three portions. Unbutton the shirt and begin with one front panel. Iron from the side seam to the placket on each panel then get the entire back of the shirt below the yoke. Be sure to iron the placket if there is one.

When asked what makes most style experts hate men’s short sleeved shirts so much, the complaint of the “ill fit” came back time and time again. Make sure to check out my first blog post about short sleeved shirts here for some other great short sleeve shirt styling tips.

Here are our questions and answers leading you to the perfect short sleeve shirt this Spring.

Question: What is the #1 thing you can do to help your personal style?

Answer: Get the fit right.

Which brings us to the next question: What’s the #1 factor in getting the fit right in a short sleeved shirt?

Answer: Making sure the yoke into the sleeve fits well.

Which brings up a few more questions: How do you know if the fit is right in the shoulder and the sleeve?

The yoke should fit comfortably along the upper back with the sleeve seam at the armhole resting perfectly on top of the ball of the shoulder. If any buttons begin to pull at the chest area, the shoulder may be too tight.

And the sleeve length and fullness?

Answer: To find where the short sleeve should end, flex your bicep and find the center of the bicep with your other hand. This should be the end of the sleeve. Keeping the flex in the bicep, you should have just a little comfortable allowance beyond one finger width.

Expert style tip: An option for an existing shirt is rolling the short sleeve up to the bicep center.

All of these fit options are an easy fix when you order a custom dress shirt with us. Interested? Click here to get started.

As a follow up to my last post about 3 suits to consider purchasing if you are buying a suit this year, I want to cover the shape shifting movement in men’s suits. Designers whose suits are being seen on the runways, seem to be creating looser fitting suits this year.

Now don’t toss that trim fit suit quite yet and keep in mind that these trends do take a few years to catch on. However, if you don’t own a “skinny suit”, now may not be the time to invest in one.

Try a custom suit with a bit more of what tailors refer to as an “allowance”. An allowance is the name for those extra inches added to your chest, waist, and hip measurements to allow room for the torso. In other words, if you have a 38 chest, a tailor cannot make the actual coat chest 38 inches or you wouldn’t be able to button the coat. Make sense?

A typical trim fit coat might add a 5 inch allowance to the chest, waist and hip, for example. Ask the tailor what allowance he uses for a trim fit, for a traditional cut, and for a fuller cut. Now may be the time to go back to the traditional fit.

Gents, fashion forward enough for a lacey shirt and floral suit? No?Not into trends you say? Perhaps these two menswear spring trends for 2016 are a little less daunting.

1. The White Chino.

The white chino is back and ready for some Spring warmth. If you aren’t quite sure you are ready to go for the look of this white chino by Ralph Lauren, why not order a pair of custom linen pants? We have white and off-white in linen. Linen is classic and can easily be dressed up with a blazer or dressed down for a beach getaway.

2. The Blousy Pant. As I referred to before in this post, the blousy high waisted pant is headed our way in a big way.

Not ready for this look either? How about a happy medium? Order a higher rise on your custom pants with us and add a single, double, or if you are really daring triple pleat and choose the full cut option. This allows more room in the thigh and leg area which is where all the pant styles are headed.

Ordering a pair of custom pants now will lend you enough time to get them for your Spring vacation!

For the past few years, it seems everything has gotten skinnier: the suits, the jeans, the ties…

This is tie is TOO SKINNY

I am not saying that a great fitting suit or perfectly tailored shirt is going out of style but I am saying that the tides may be turning in the direction of a roomier fit. The thighs and the rise on pants seem to be ballooning in a good way and we are finally seeing the return of the pleat.

It always feel a little weird at first; when you just got used to the trim fit…

High-waist blousy trousers will be returning

Relax. I feel like this shape shifting suit trend could be a blessing; One that will allow us all to breathe a little easier.

Ever gotten to the fabric page when attempting to order your custom dress shirt and thought, “Wait. What fabric do I like? I cannot remember…”

Here is the breakdown by fabric type of our most popular shirting fabrics to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

1. Broadcloth: A broadcloth is the most popular dress shirting fabric. You may have also heard it referred to as poplin. Broadcloths are characterized by their smoothness. The most basic broadcloth is a usually a blend in a 60 count. Our basic broadcloth is a 60/40 blend of cotton and polyester.

Increasing in thread count will create a smoother and softer broadcloth fabric. You can choose from a 100% Egyptian Cotton with a 80′s to 100′s thread count in our Deluxe line. The next step up is a Luxury broadcloth with more like a 120′s or even 140′s thread count. A great choice for custom dress shirts, a broadcloth can be worn every day, casual and open-collared with or without a sport coat, or with a suit and tie.

2. Pinpoint Oxfords are the second most popular as they are thicker and more durable. Pinpoint dress shirts are made of a slightly textured fabric, which lends itself to a sportier look. Because of the thicker yarn and texture, a lower thread count still makes a substantial shirt. Ideal for button-down shirts, these shirts are great worn open-collared for casual days and nights.

3. Royal Oxford dress shirts, Herringbones, and Twill fabrics all have a distinct texture that makes them trendy. These would be our designer’s choice for a cool looking, classy, open-collared look or refined with a wide spread collar and French cuff for dressy occasions. Bespoke elegance is the result of wearing one of these eye-catching fabrics. A Royal Oxford has a basket weave texture while a Twill has a diagonal lined pattern. A Herringbone is characterized by its fishbone pattern.

I often hear that short sleeved button down shirts lack style. I disagree. There are certain rules, however, one should live by when creating your own custom short sleeved shirt.

1. Keep it simple.

A small print or solid color is the way to go. No bowling stripe Charlie Harper shirts. This is a beautiful pink chambray fabric, also known as an End-on-End that is great for Spring and Summer. Check out our Chambrays here.

2. Make sure you get a good fit. Nothing worse than a blousy short sleeved shirt. A great time to order a custom shirt if you have not done so in the past. Also gray is trending right now so a gray pinpoint oxford may be a big hit this Spring.

3. Don’t try to overdress the shirt. A short sleeved shirt is a casual shirt. Please don’t try to wear it with dress slacks or a tie. An open collared blue check shirt will be great on the boardwalk.